


look up to the skies and see

by traumatic



Category: SKAM (Norway)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Boys Kissing, Developing Relationship, Even has an abusive ex who doesn't appear, Fantasy, Forests, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Guardian - Freeform, Kissing, M/M, Magic, Moving, New Jersey, No Smut, Non Canonical Immortal, Storms, Supernatural Elements, Wilderness, not the show
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 10:58:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15661863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/traumatic/pseuds/traumatic
Summary: Early morning runs turn Even’s life upside down in just the right way.Or, on the run from his past, Even moves to a place no one would think to look for him—a small town in New Jersey with a dark and magical past.





	look up to the skies and see

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ashnalk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashnalk/gifts).



> Thanks to[ ashnalk](https://ashnalk.tumblr.com/) on tumblr for the wonderful and gorgeous art and for the chance to write something for you! I hope this is as good as your art is (or perhaps even half as good as your art???) 
> 
> Title from "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen.

 

* * *

Even’s new life begins here, in this shitty New Jersey town, where he’s not rich enough, not dumb enough, but at least he’s trying.

He rents an apartment on the bad side of town, though his roommate says “there is no bad side of Jersey because it's all terrible", and finds a job at a local supermarket. He works and sleeps and eats and plays video games.

That's all he does for months until the winter is over and Even’s old friends tell him Brandon’s been trying to get them all to talk.

Brandon, Even’s ex, was an abusive fuck who stalked Even for months, threatened and hurt him, and even tried to burn his house down. The stupid cops in fucking Arizona wouldn't do shit because of who he is. Who he knows. The son of the governor. So Even had to run.

He took a plane to Illinois and then one to Kansas and then one to New York. He took a ferry to Jersey and a bus to his apartment.

He had to be sure Brandon couldn't track him. Couldn't find him. Couldn't hurt him again.

At least if Brandon tries to burn down his new apartment, the police here _might_ arrest him.

Even’s friends used to be Brandon’s friends, so he doesn't tell them where he is, even though they beg. Even his parents don't know where he ended up.

He deletes his Facebook, his Twitter, his Instagram. He changes phone companies.

It's May when he starts to feel safe, when he feels at home, again. His roommate doesn't do much other than fart and leave piss on the toilet seat, so Even isn't worried about him finking on him.

Even starts to go running in the early mornings through the woods behind their building. He carries pepper spray with him and he always has his phone, so he isn't too worried.

Plus he tells Elijah, his roommate, to call the police if he isn't home in a couple hours.

The trees are beautiful and the forest is luscious. Even picks up some tricks from a book on edible plants and figures out that some of the berries are edible!

He's just gotten a handful of them from a bush not too far from the trail when he hears rustling. He immediately freezes.

Elijah had warned him about the bears! What did he say again?

Is running a good option? Dropping to his knees? Shouting and waving his arms?

Fuck his life. He can’t fucking remember. Why didn’t he listen?

He finally gets away from his asshat of an ex and then he gets eaten by a black bear in the middle of New Jersey.

How unfair.

He doesn't move for what feels like hours. When he doesn't hear any additional noises, he turns. His relief is palpable when he doesn't see a large, growling black bear and instead sees a deer. A doe, specifically, her tail wagging gently from side to side.

She's looking right at him, but obviously isn't afraid. Just curious. Even slowly reaches his hand out, his fingers sticky with blackberry juice, and she sniffs the air. Hesitates.

Even waits patiently, already awed at her beauty, and resists the ache in his shoulder. He’d already been so stiff from fear that his joints ache from holding steady for so long.

She makes a decision and steps forward. Takes another. And another.

And then she's standing right in front of him and sniffing at the berries in Even’s hand.

He wishes he could take a picture without frightening her, but he doesn't move. He just lets her eat the berries and watches her with amazed and patient eyes.

He can't believe this fearful and alert creature is trusting him enough to let him feed her. It's amazing.

She eats them all and then looks up at him. Sniffs again. Even holds his breath. Then she wanders away, stepping calmly toward the bush to gather some for herself.

Even can only look on in astonishment.

He can't believe that just happened.

* * *

 

Even does this everyday and sometimes she's there, sometimes she isn't. He waits for her for a while by the blackberry bush and, if she doesn't arrive within half an hour, he leaves her a bowl full of picked berries and feels better about himself for the rest of the day.

Sure, he works at Walmart and lives with a stranger and is doing nothing with his life, but at least he is providing something to this delicate little doe.

He starts to bring her stuff from work, too, like carrots and apples and stuff. She likes the apples best.

Eventually, they become like friends. She even lets Even pet her between her ears sometimes.

He starts to run farther into the woods, too, which is a bit frightening because of how close together the trees get. The forest starts out so spacious and then it grows denser and denser. Even doesn't know how the deer do it. He certainly can't run very efficiently over all the roots sticking up from the ground.

On a Tuesday in early July, Even starts his run earlier than usual. He had a terrible dream about Brandon last night, so he decided he'd be productive instead of drowning in his sorrows in bed all day.

By the time he makes it to the berry bush, it's only 5:30 and the sky is still dark. The doe is there, though, waiting for him patiently, so Even pulls out the half dozen peaches from his backpack. A new gift.

He carefully pits them with his pocket knife and she eats them happily from his hand. Even smiles softly, still utterly amazed that this is his life and that he gets to feed a deer everyday.

When the peaches are gone, she nudges his hand gently with her nose and then turns around, ears jumping in all directions as she stares, joints locked into place. Even watches where she does, worried about the fear she's showing.

If she wasn't afraid of Even, what could she be afraid of? A bear? A hunter?

She darts off just as Even hears the sound of a branch snapping underneath something's foot. A blond boy steps out from behind a tree, covered in dirt and grass.

He is one of the most beautiful creatures Even has ever seen. His clothes are dated, though. Old and dirty and ill-fitting. Even wonders where he came from and why he's out so early.

He also wonders if he's dangerous. Even grips his canister of pepper spray tightly in his fist.

“Hello,” the boy says brightly. “How are you?”

Even falters for a second at being afraid. The boy is so utterly harmless looking that Even can't bring himself to be rude.

“I'm alright,” Even admits politely. “You?”

“Oh, I'm great. The forest is beautiful this time of year, isn't it?”

“It is,” Even agrees. “Are you lost or hurt or something?”

The boy smiles and it transforms his beautiful face into something so magnificent it's stunning; Even nearly faints.

“No, no. I...I live out here.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Winter’s a little rough, but the summer’s are beautiful.”

“That's awesome! I just moved here a couple months ago, but the view from my room is just...spectacular. I had to get closer.”

“Me, too,” the boy admits. “I'm Isak.”

What harm can come from a name?

“Even.”

“Nice to meet you,” he says, still smiling that beautiful smile, “Even.”

“Likewise.” And now _Even_ is smiling, too.

* * *

 

Upon his next return to the forest, Even almost hopes to see Isak again. He wonders if his home is close to where he was running yesterday or if he was out looking for something.

Even stops at the edge of the woods to retie his shoelaces and then he counts to ten in his head. Bounces on his toes for a couple seconds. Takes off down the foot-worn path, music blasting in his headphones. His backpack clunks gently against his shoulder blades, full of a bottle of water and a pound or so of seedless grapes to share with the doe.

He should probably give her a name.

He runs for a while, lets the drums of the song envelope him until that's all he can feel. Until he’s standing at the fork in the trail. He heads directly down the middle, leaving the foot-worn paths for the grassy way down toward the berry bushes.

The doe is there, gnawing on a patch of dandelions when he arrives. She looks up, pauses, and then continues eating like he isn't even there.

Even smiles to himself and opens his backpack to grab the grapes. There's a rustle as Even reaches out a bundle of grapes to her and Isak appears between two trees.

He’s wearing mud-stained overalls with rolled ankles and Converse. He looks super cute. Even smiles at him.

“She’s not afraid?” Isak asks quietly, not moving as the deer eats directly from Even’s hand.

“No,” he whispers. “She's not. Not really.”

“That's amazing,” Isak whispers, staring at the two of them with what seems to be a smug expression. “She’s beautiful.”

And she is. Her fur is so so brown that it's nearly black and she is spotted with white freckles. And she is tall and one of the most cautious creatures on earth and she is also eating out of Even’s fucking hand.

Isak steps closer and his feet are silent. The doe doesn't even acknowledge him, too busy with the grapes, so he continues.

Even is amazed how trusting the doe is of them. She doesn't even pause to listen or, maybe, Isak is so quiet on his feet that she really doesn't even hear him.

Isak is only a meter or so away when he cracks a twig in half with his sneaker and she turns, ears twitching back and forth, and looks. Isak freezes, cringing at his carelessness, and her tail starts to wag as they stare at each other.

She turns back toward Even and eats the last few grapes on the bunch. Looks up at him. Sneezes. Walks away.

When she's out of sight, Even starts to laugh. He's got deer snot on his hands, but at least she didn't run away in terror.

Isak grins and joins Even by the bushes, chuckling gently. He looks great. Cleaner. Somehow he's even more beautiful than last time, which, at the time, hadn’t seemed possible.

“I thought it was all over for a second there,” he says, still half smiling.

“Me, too,” Even agrees. “Maybe she can sense our sincerity?”

“Yeah! Or maybe she trusts us because we're both dashingly handsome.”

Even laughs as Isak kicks away some dry leaves to sit on the ground. No wonder his overalls are dirty.

“Come on,” he says with a smirk. “A little dirt won't kill you.”

“Obviously,” Even rolls his eyes. “If it did, you'd be ten feet under.”

Isak laughs and Even does, too, already on his way down to the earth. There's a small patch of dandelions left that somehow managed to survive the doe’s appetite, so Even begins to pluck them to keep his hands busy.

His knee is just barely touching Isak’s through a rip in his overalls and its it's just enough to make Even wonder about the possibilities.

“You know,” Isak says softly, leaning back on his hands to stare up at the trees.

The sun is shining today and it's only somewhat warm, but Isak is apparently loving it. He is practically basking under it.

He looks beautiful framed by sunlight.

“When I was younger...like 7 or 8...I got this really bad sunburn at the beach. Like I was hospitalized and medicated because it was so bad. My mom...she’s sorta...like she's not all there all the time, you know? She doesn't always remember the things she's supposed to and so she left me there at this beach in Maryland for 12 hours with no sunscreen. No drinks. No umbrella. I didn't know where to go, so I just sat there in the water all day until my dad got out of work and had to come get me because she couldn't. I was fried like a fuckin’ egg. Ever since then, I can't seem to get a tan. It's like I used all of my chances for tanning in one go. I am always either pale as fuck or a lobster. No in betweens, no matter how hard I try.”

“Is she sick, your mom?”

“She's dead is what she is,” Isak says simply, flatly. “That's why I live out here. I can't bring myself to sell her house, the last thing I have left of her.”

“Oh, shit.” Even hates emotional topics and wishes he could somehow express that.

They make him super uncomfortable and then he gets all squirmy and anxious and shit. It's not his fault his mother isn't a hugger or a talker. He's just fucked up because of it and there's nothing he can do to change it.

“Yeah. No tanning for me.”

“Me neither,” Even leans back so he lays on the ground, deciding he doesn't care about the dirt he’s certainly going to be carrying home.

He stares up at the canopy of branches and blinks. He blinks and blinks and blinks.

“My mom,” Even starts to say because he, for some reason, can't help himself, “kicked me out when I told her I was pansexual.”

“That sucks,” Iaak says comfortingly. “Mine was surprisingly okay with me being a raging homo for someone so fuckin’ religious.”

So he does like boys. Nice. A shot.

“Mine wasn't. She didn't even go to church or anything, but it was still a sin in her book, even though she was a fucking pescatarian who had me out of wedlock.”

Even's dad is cool with it, which just speaks to how different they are.

“Sometimes parents suck.”

Even turns to look at Isak who has joined him in laying fully underneath the trees, and laughs.

“Yeah, they do.”

* * *

 

Isak becomes a regular guest at the breakfasts with the doe. She still doesn't have a name, but Even is currently working tirelessly on it in an effort to bridge the gap in their friendship.

Isak is always dressed in dirty, worn clothes that are _toujours_ functional and it's so fucking cute. Even may be developing somewhat of a crush on him. He also may want to steal those dirty ripped overalls.

He does nothing about either, even though the urge to wrap Isak in his arms and kiss him fiercely is so hard to ignore sometimes that Even has to shut his eyes and count to ten.

They sit and they feed the doe and they talk about how fucked their lives are. It's pretty great to have someone who doesn't smell like a walking fart to talk to. Even tells Isak of his manipulative and abusive ex and Isak tells him about the only girl he’s ever almost fucked—“I went completely flaccid in her v-hole, man. It was fucking rough.”—which disgusts him and makes him laugh so hard he cries.

He's developed a nice little friendship for himself and he is so grateful for Isak. He's also grateful to the doe for bringing them together.

To be honest, it’s better than he could've ever asked for.

* * *

 

In late September, Even has a very vivid, very frightening nightmare. He wakes up covered in a cold sweat and can't fall back asleep no matter how hard he tries, so he gets up and gets ready for his run, even though it's only 4 and the sun hasn't even begun to rise yet.

He has carrots today for the doe, so he stuffs them in his bag and heads outside and down toward the woods.

The sky is dark with clouds today and Even worries about a possible thunderstorm or something. He should've checked the weather before leaving, but he completely forgot until he was out the door. He just hopes there isn't any hail.

He can handle the rain, at least.

He reaches the fork in the trail about a mile from his house and slips straight between the two paths toward the bushes. The doe isn't waiting for him today, so he sits. He waits. The sky grows darker, even darker than it was before, and the wind picks up.

There's a chill in the air that is so unlike September— or at least September in Arizona—that he stands up and thinks about running back just as a fat raindrop hits him on the head.  

He curses his own stupidity as more begin to fall. No wonder the doe hadn't shown up. She's probably safe and dry in a cave somewhere, asleep, while the rain, which had been a drizzle for only a couple seconds, soaks Even to the bone.

He blindly stumbles around, half tripping, half running, in the direction he thinks he came from. The rain is so heavy that he struggles to breathe and to see, but he doesn't stop. Just keeps fumbling in the darkness as wind pushes him from side to side and rain slips into his eyes.

He knows Isak lives out here somewhere, but has no idea where. Is sure he's probably asleep in his warm bed, ignorant to the situation city-slicker Even has gotten himself into.

Coughing roughly, Even wonders if this is a hurricane he had missed hearing about. Is this what a hurricane is like? Does Jersey even get hurricanes?

Even has no fucking clue. He lived his entire life in a tiny town in dry ass Arizona! Summer’s were scorching and hurricanes were myths! Fuck his life.

He trips over a bulbous tree root in his hurry and goes sprawling into the mud like a moron. He lays there for a couple seconds, appalled, in pain, angry with himself, soaked through, freezing, and covered in mud, and curses.

“Oh my God,” is all he can say, over and over again until he finds it in himself to sit up.

He leans his back against the nearest oak tree and shuts his eyes. He has no chance of outrunning the storm, especially with a fucked up ankle. He has no chance of finding his way back up the trails. He's probably just getting himself more and more lost in the woods by running blindly and doing more and more damage to the bone in his ankle which is throbbing something crazy.

The wind is wicked, though, and he's shivering so much he thinks he’s going to freeze to death in the middle of summer. He's just lucky there isn't any hail. That would hurt.

In the distance, thunder growls so loudly it makes the hairs on his arms stand up. Lightning strikes. He is alone, invisible, soaking wet, and confused in a strange forest.

He feels like crying, but can't bring himself to. What is he going to do?

His phone! He has it with him! Surely he can call someone...if it isn't ruined by all the water.

He pulls it out and leans over it, tries desperately to turn it on. He presses the power button over and over and over until he realizes it's futile and he's stuck in the woods with no escape and his smelly roommate probably won't even call the police so he'll fucking die in the woods and then the animals will eat his corpse and he'll rot and never be found again.

He buries his head in his arms to protect it from the whipping rain and he cries a little. Then someone is wrapping him up in something made of plastic and hauling him to his feet. He can't see who it is, but the plastic stops the rain from pelting his bare skin and he's so grateful. He shuts his eyes and lets the stranger drag him across roots and leaves and through gaps between the trees for a while, his ankle screaming the entire time in protest. The rain and the wind only grow stronger as Even struggles to keep pace with his savior, a stranger with soft, warm fingers and a tight grip.

He doesn't have the energy or time to think about anything but how grateful he is. Grateful and relieved he won't die in the woods.

The stranger starts to slow, so Even opens his eyes, hair blocking his sight, leg nearly paralyzed from the sharp pain of walking. There's a building up ahead. Maybe. Even can hardly tell.

As they near, Even’s relief becomes overwhelming. Shelter. The person pulls him along and Even turns to him, sees blond hair and a stubbly jaw, and maybe recognizes him. He looks familiar.

The house is a couple feet away now. Even can do this. He can make it and then promptly collapse onto the dry floor, gasping for air and shivering so hard he can't otherwise move. He can do it.

And so he does.

The stranger yanks open the door and Even collapses a foot inside. There's quite a large pool of water already growing underneath him, but he doesn't care, he doesn't care, _he doesn't care._

He is alive and he is breathing and he is laughing. He is laughing and crying and freezing and dripping and wheezing and _living._ The stranger takes off his coat and his boots and slams the door closed. Even's laughter reverberates around the medium-sized cabin.

“Are you okay?” The stranger asks, kneeling down to look Even in the eyes. “I saw you fall.”

Even finally looks up, finally stops laughing long enough to focus, and makes a relieved face.

“Isak?”

“Yeah,” he smiles. “Now are you okay? Are you bleeding or anything?”

Even looks down. His knee is throbbing, but doesn't seem to be bleeding. His ankle is twisted, but that's an internal injury.

“Twisted my ankle on the way down.”

“Let me see.”

Isak lifts Even’s muddy foot and removes his shoe; even his socks are soaked and muddy. He removes that, too, with the concentrated look of a doctor or nurse. He presses Even’s bone and he winces.

It fucking hurts, but Even doesn't think it's broken.

“Sprained, I think. Nothing a wrap and some rest won't fix.”

“Thanks,” Even says softly, “for coming to get me. You didn't have to.”

“Of course I did. I'm the protector of these woods and you were in danger.”

“‘Protector’?”

“Like...like park ranger, you know? I guard them because my mother loved them.”

Even smiles a little. Of course that's what he meant.

“I’ll get you some dry clothes, yeah? Do you want to shower?”

“You saying I stink?” Even raised an eyebrow, half smirking nudging his shoulder a little. “How rude!”

Isak laughs, “I’m saying you're covered in mud and it makes for an interesting view of your face. I'd like to see it clean again sometime.”

Even grins and, with Isak’s help, stands up. Every time he walks on his left leg, he has to grit his teeth. Fuck tree roots and fuck his stupidly clumsy legs.

“Thank you,” Even says firmly when Isak deposits him at the bathroom.

“No problem,” Isak smiles. “Let me get you some clothes and a towel, all right?”

* * *

 

Isak’s shower is blissfully uncomplicated, so Even has an easy time using it, at least. Dressing afterward is a complication he hadn't planned for.

Isak is shorter and skinnier than he is, so the sweatpants are a little short and the shirt is just a little too tight in the armpits. Putting on someone else’s underwear is a very strange experience, but at least they're still in the plastic, so he knows they're brand new. Not that he'd mind too much if they were fresh out of the wash or whatever.

His ankle is still throbbing and there’s a distressingly dark bruise on his kneecap the size of an apple. His hands are scraped and he looks like shit, but otherwise, he's fine.

He's great, actually, because he isn't drowning in hurricane strength winds and sheets of cold rain water. He's alive and he's in the house of a very cute and very weird boy. How much better can life get?

He leaves the shower with dripping hair and cold toes because Isak hadn’t provided socks and heads toward the kitchen where Isak is making tea.

“Don't you look at the weather before you leave?” Isak asks immediately, pouring water into two mugs. “This storm’s been predicted for weeks.”

“Not all of us have time to watch the weather, park ranger,” Even scoffs. “Plus it's so boring it makes me wanna die watching it.”

“Maybe you should start checking the weather app in your phone at least? That might help you not get stuck in fucking hurricanes.”

“Yeah,” Even agrees, smirking, “maybe...but then again, probably not. If running out into a hurricane is what it takes to get you that close to me, maybe I'll keep doing it.”

Isak laughs, grinning, and shakes his hair out of his face. He's still dressed in his wet clothes, still dirty with mud from Even and from running through puddles, and he looks fucking sexy.

Lord, he looks good dirty. He looks good clean, as well. Even isn't sure which he likes better until Isak peels off his shirt and hangs it off of the coat rack and it suddenly becomes his new favorite.

“Can’t have my favorite shirt sprouting mold, can I?”

In theory, he _could_ put it in the dryer, but that's none of Even’s business. Not when his chest is pale, unmarked skin layered over muscle and bone, and he's looking at Even like he's expecting him to have a reaction.

And he does. Even never seems to disappoint in that way. His eyes widen, his mouth opens. He inhales too sharply. Isak is too beautiful for words to describe.

He is also grinning by the time Even regains control of himself.

He's just so flawless. So effortlessly elegant and beautiful and badass and fucking sarcastic and also a little annoying and he’s perfect. Even wants to kiss him, but doesn't want to give him the satisfaction.

“Tea?” Isak asks, returning to the mugs to bring them over to the couch. “I'm gonna hop in for a quick shower, yeah?”

“If you wank,” Even says seriously, barely able to hold himself together, smiling evilly, “promise you'll think of me?”

This time _Isak_ is shocked and it makes a rush of satisfaction flow up in Even. He laughs to break the tension and Isak smirks just a little. Recovers quickly.

“Of course! Who else will I think of? Certainly not Emma.”

Emma was the girl who he tried to fuck but failed to in the 11th grade because he couldn’t get it up. Even laughs again and Isak and his beautiful body disappear into the bathroom.

Even sits back on the couch, mug of hot tea in hand, and sighs. He's just decided that he's not going to leave Isak’s house without kissing him. Or asking him out. Or something like that.

He sips hesitantly from his tea and the taste of raspberries blooms in his mouth. He's never had raspberry tea before, hasn't had much tea at all, actually, but it's great. Sweet in all the right ways and milky in all the others.

He sips his tea and he looks around Isak’s house with curious eyes. It's cute and woodsy and very, very antiquated. He does have a TV and there's an iPhone charger in the wall, but other than that and the electricity, the house is old-style. The walls are solid wood and there are pictures of a short blonde woman and a dark haired man speckled around the place, which have aged like fine paper. Perhaps they're of an ancestor?

Isak is in a few of the newer pictures, looking approximately how he looks now, but most are of the man and the woman who might be his grandparents? Maybe even great grandparents. 

By the front door, Isak's shoes are scattered on the floor in disarray, all dirty, all worn. Even smiles. Coats are tossed haphazardly over the backs of the kitchen chairs, empty dishes lay abandoned on the table. There's a blooming plant in a planter hanging from the ceiling, its leaves growing up and out for several feet on the wall behind it. There's a fire in the fireplace, burning gently enough that the heat against Even’s legs is soft. He never wants to be anywhere else.

 _This_ is what a home feels like. A comfortable, lived in, messy _home._

The bathroom door creaks open and Isak steps out, dressed only in tiny red boxer briefs and a black t-shirt. He walks across the room confidently, strutting, and Even cannot form coherent words. He can practically see the outline of his dick. Fuck his life.

“Want some socks? Temperature’s supposed to drop to, like, 30° or something.”

“30࿁?!” Even screeches; It's all he can do other than gape. “It's only September!”

“Yeah,” Isak nods. “Weird, isn't it?”

Even can only nod in silent agreement, looking everywhere but at Isak. He is too easily distracted for this shit.

“Listen,” Isak starts to say, sitting beside him on the couch. “I have to tell you something, okay, and it's so fucking weird that you might not believe me and you might think I'm as mental as my mom but I don't care. I need you to know. We've been friends for months and I...I care about you, okay, so I need you to listen and believe.”

“Okay, sure,” Even says worriedly. “What is it?”

“I was born in these woods. My mother was a deeply paranoid woman who didn't trust hospitals or doctors or anything, so she gave birth to me in the creek two miles east. There was...something about the creek water that made it easier. Made me different.”

“Do you have a parasite?” Even asks curiously. “Which one? A tapeworm?”

“I don't have a tapeworm,  you dumbass,” Isak rolls his eyes. “I have a condition. A responsibility. I...I protect the forest at all costs...and I have for decades.”

“Mate,” Even says softly, firmly, “you're only twenty. How long have you been a park ranger? Since fuckin’ birth?”

“I'm _not_ a park ranger. I just live here as I have for 76 years and I protect the creatures that live in these woods with everything in me.”

Even looks him in the eyes closely, feels like laughing, doesn’t. Looks away because the sincerity is too much.

“The creek water...made you...immortal?”

Even is going to flip the fuck out when he gets home. When this storm is finally over.

“Something like that.”

“That's fucking nuts, Isak,” Even shakes his head. “That's batshit fucking crazy.”

“I wanted you to know because I sorta wanna kiss you and I don't wanna be hiding the truth from you when we do.”

“Bold of you to assume I’d let you kiss me,” Even says simply, unable to help himself.

“Bold of _you_ to assume I’d be the one to make the first move.”

Even cracks a grin and sips at his tea. Contemplates his new reality for a second.

“So...you and the doe...know each other?”

“The doe?” Isak laughs. “Her name is Tulip.”

“Tulip?” Even wrinkles his nose. “I was thinking something more badass. Something killer. Something dangerous...not a fucking flower.”

“Ues, well, she picked it out herself.”

“You can talk to the animals?”

“More like they talk to me.”

“So you had her what? Spy on me as I ran?”

“No,” Isak admits. “I have a sort of sense of the beings that cross into the woods once they step over the tree line. I can feel what intentions they have almost...and I knew you just wanted an escape. A sense of freedom. Tulip just liked you because she could feel it, too.”

“How’d you find me in the storm?” Even asks suddenly, reminded of the thick fog-like rain coming down in sheets, making everything indistinguishable.

“I felt your fear. Felt your desperation. Then I followed the emotion all the way to you, muddy and curled up underneath a tree.”

They both pause and the silence hangs heavy in the air.

Even has a giant crush on either a madman or a magician and he isn’t sure which is worse. Or which is better.

Apparently, Isak isn’t excluded from the rule that all beautiful people are fucked up in some gigantic way. Every single one of them.

Isak suddenly says, “It's weird, I know. I'm sorry.”

 _“Sorry?”_ Even gawks at him. “For what? For being born this way? How is that your fault?”

“I...I never thought about it that way.”

“Well, you should. No one chooses how they're born.”

Isak nods, smiles a little, settles down with his own cup of tea. Even feels relieved that _that_ was his big secret. Not that he’s into, like, being a dog or something. Even’s ex, Brandon, had a creepy foot thing.

“I have bipolar disorder,” Even admits softly, trying to get his thoughts back on track. “I take meds for it and go to therapy and stuff to stay okay.”

Isak nods, asks, “Are we all secret free then?”

“Guess so.” Even’s sort of relieved.

“Good.”

Isak turns, grabs Even by his jaw, and kisses him. He kisses him like he has all the time in the world to do it. Like the house isn’t shaking from how hard the wind is blowing against it. Kisses him like Even has always dreamt of being kissed.

Even, overcome with emotion, leans into his touch, melts under his fingers, and evaporates against his lips. His mouth is as soft as it had looked and his lips are perfect and Even is in Heaven. His tongue is even better.

“I've been wanting to do this for weeks,” Isak murmurs. “God.”  

“You've been torturing me with your stupid cute ripped overalls for all this time and you're the one who was suffering?” Even scoffs. “Nah. No way.”

“Shut up,” Isak says firmly, fondly, “and kiss me already.”

And so he does. He kisses him all night and into the next day until the storm subsides and the wind stops howling and the sky dries up. They stop to see Tulip on their way back through the woods and feed her.

Once they’re done, they hold hands as they walk the path back up to the forest’s edge and talk about the forest.

“What about this forest makes it so special?”

Special enough to create its own defense system. Special enough to grant its protector powers and immortality.

“Honestly?” Isak asks. “The creatures that live here.”

“Like what?”

“Nymphs, ghosts. Fairies. The Jersey Devil.”

“No fucking way.”

“Hell yeah,” Isak nods. “He lives a quiet life near the creek.”

“You," Even says, shaking his head fondly, laughing himself, "are full of shit." 

As the edge of the forest grows nearer, Even starts to sigh. Tomorrow, it’s back to working himself to death at Walmart and living a depressing life. He wonders if Isak wants to see him still in the mornings. If they’ll still sit or run and talk. If they’ll feed Tulip together.

“I guess,” Isak says softly, “I’ll see you tomorrow morning at the berry bush?”

“You certainly will,” Even says back, smiling even though he’s sort of freaking out.  

Isak sighs moodily and kisses Even on the mouth once. Twice. Three times.

“Don’t be stupid,” he scolds, “and ask me out already.”

“Why not you?!” The nerve!

“Because. Now ask.”

“Wanna go out sometime? Maybe get a pizza or something?”

Isak scoffs, haughty, and grins afterward to soften the words, “Of course, you big idiot.”

Even rolls his eyes and laughs, lets Isa wrap him up in a tight hug and then kiss him gently. Kiss him firmly. Kiss him passionately.

Even can’t help himself when he starts to think about kissing Isak for the rest of his life. Or for at least the next 60 or so years.

Maybe he will. Maybe he won't. That's what so great about life.

You never do know what comes next.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you again to[ ashnalk](https://ashnalk.tumblr.com/) and to the organizers of the reverse big bang! I'm so happy to have been involved :)


End file.
